Guest columnist Mark Hodermarsky is an English teacher at St. Ignatius High School. He has written or edited six books, including, most recently, "Beyond Trochenbrod:The Betty Gold Story."

Thank God for Cleveland college radio. More on that later.

There has not been a more groundbreaking year for rock music than 1966. On many top-10 greatest albums lists you'll find these 1966 treasures: "Pet Sounds" by The Beach Boys, "Blonde on Blonde" by Bob Dylan and "Revolver" by The Beatles. Each of these works ignited a shift from the formulaic sounds of '50s and early '60s pop-rock toward an era where rock artists began to infuse their recordings with a significantly wider range of musical influences and production techniques.

The 2015 film "Love and Mercy" vividly captures Beach Boy Brian Wilson's studio explorations. "Pet Sounds" made 1967's "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album possible. Dylan's "Blonde on Blonde" became rock's first double album from which came a hit song that (allegedly) sanctioned drug use, "Rainy Day Women #12 and #35," with the refrain: "Everybody must get stoned." "Revolver," incorporated "sounds that nobody else had done yet--I mean nobody," commented McCartney.

The psychedelic age began in 1966 and reached its pinnacle a few years later. Undoubtedly, Wilson's LSD trips, Dylan's amphetamine habit and the Beatles' drug and spiritual journeys contributed to these landmark recordings, but a more potent factor was the creative urge to push boundaries. Other genres--including folk rock, country rock, garage rock, blues rock and funk--blossomed. 1966 ignited a seismic shift in rock that even a kid of twelve (me) could feel and embrace.

Rock music "grew up" in 1966, and the following albums suggest where the sound was heading: "Jefferson Airplane Takes Off"/Jefferson Airplane; "Sounds of Silence"/Simon and Garfunkel; "Love"/Love; "Freak Out"/Mothers of Invention; "Fresh Cream"/Cream and "Buffalo Springfield"/Buffalo Springfield. The transition from one rock era to another became complete when Jimi Hendrix, The Grateful Dead, The Doors, Pink Floyd and The Velvet Underground recorded their songs the following year.

Many listeners, however, still preferred a version of rock that mirrored a simpler time and were more inclined to enjoy these hit singles (and others): "Let's Hang On"/Four Seasons; "Lightnin' Strikes"/Lou Christie; "Five O' Clock World"/Vogues; "I'm a Believer"/Monkees and "You Keep Me Hanging On"/Supremes.

Of course, what was considered musically and socially counter-cultural or unconventional eventually became more popular with mainstream AM listeners. The clash of competing rock genres added a vibrancy that is woefully absent from today's pop-music radio stations. On Top-40 Cleveland radio stations in 1966, you might hear the insipid "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron" by The Royal Guardsmen followed by the multi-textured "God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys.

I'm grateful to have developed a deep affection for music that still burns in my memory 50 years later. The music of 1966 inspires me to seek new experiences, to be open to new ideas and offers an escape from the mind-numbing sameness (country pop) that dominates the FM commercial airwaves.

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